I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved process for elongating vehicle doors and, in particular, to a process which involves forming and attaching a new sheet metal skin to an extended door substructure.
II. Description of the Prior Art
It has previously been known to form elongated or "stretch" limosines by cutting the body and chassis into two portions, inserting extensions between the two portions and reassembling the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,585 discloses such a process. The elongated doors for such stretch limosines have previously been formed in a similar fashion. In particular, the door is first severed vertically into front and rear portions and a central extension portion is inserted between the two end portions. The central portion is welded to the front and rear portions along the outside finished face of the door as well as along the inner panel of the door substructure and various other structural locations such as structural support beams. The outer face or skin of the elongated door was then ground to smooth the welds, and refinished.
This previously known method for elongating doors is disadvantageous primarily because it is difficult to grind and finish the outer skin of the door with sufficient precision to eliminate all flaws. Invariably the resulting doors contained raised or depressed portions in the central inserted region, or noticeable ridges in the areas of the welds. These and other disadvantages are overcome by the present invention.